"The Qingshan Hunting Ground has arrived, please passengers disembark in an orderly manner."

 

Just as the two of them were "having a great time chatting", the bus suddenly played a broadcast with a steampunk style.

 

Ji Nian turned his head and saw the large bus slowly stopping outside a green stone wall covered with vines and moss, with endless mountains in the distance.

 

The clouds and mist above were light, like a layer of light gauze, sometimes near and sometimes far, like the casual strokes of an excellent painter, freely smudged in the distant sky.

 

"What a great place," Chronicle couldn't help but mutter to himself.

 

It must be said that sometimes, things in this world are really interesting.

 

The Peach Blossom Secret Realm is a famous den of the Nine Provinces, but it also has the beauty of falling flowers and a thousand miles of peach blossoms.

 

And these hundred thousand green mountains, are also a paradise for corpse demons, fierce beasts, and poisonous insects, but they also have the fresh and natural beauty of a primary school Chinese textbook.

 

It feels like the Wandering Mountain that the little pig demon in the anime "Chinese Folklore" wants to leave, majestic and magnificent, fresh and natural.

 

"Chronicle Brother, let's go, let's go."

 

Jiang Cha bounced from the back of the car to Ji Nian's side, but her gaze glanced at Ying Tai, who was focused on playing games.

 

As the old saying goes: near vermilion, near ink.

 

The former young lady who resented the lack of a good teacher and sought knowledge with a sword, ended up becoming a girl addicted to online games every day and night under the influence of Ji Nian, the bad influence.

 

If it weren't for the body of the Kalin, Ji Nian would have taken her to get glasses.

 

"Frog Fun, Glory War God one two three four five six… so many stars, Chronicle Brother, your Kalin…" Jiang Cha opened her mouth, and after a while, she managed to say two words: "awesome."

 

"Maybe it's a natural talent."

 

Ji Nian said, slowly getting up, stretching his body, and then patting the shoulder of the addicted little girl, saying softly, "Ying Tai, go play single-player in the Sea of Knowledge, I'm going hunting."

 

The little girl posted a silly "Grumbling Dog" emoji in the comments section, carefully put her phone into the rough cloth bag tied to her scholar's waist, and then turned into a wisp of green smoke, falling into Ji Nian's brow.

 

With his eyes closed, feeling the little girl entering the Sea of Knowledge, still playing single-player games, Ji Nian couldn't help but shake his head slightly with a hint of helplessness.

 

– If this were in the past, with the little girl's rare spirituality, hearing about hunting, she would probably be overjoyed.

 

But now, there was no reaction at all, just playing games "at home".

 

"It turns out that from 'Seeking Knowledge with a Sword' to 'Butterfly Companion with Book Fragrance', and now it's 'Seeking Knowledge with a Sword' to 'Online Game Addict'."

 

"I really am deeply guilty."

 

Ji Nian thought to himself, revealing a little bit of conscience, which was very rare.

 

Of course, it was only a little bit, and he quickly threw it into the trash can on the side of the road.

 

"Attention, everyone, next, you can only enter the hunting ground with the accompaniment of two Kalins and one blank card."

 

"During this time, the use of any elemental skills that may cause irreversible damage to the field is not allowed. Violators will be directly eliminated and fined more than one million yuan."

 

"In addition, although most of the creatures in the field are gentle, there are also some wild tame species or poisonous insects that have not been completely cleared by our side."

 

"Please prioritize your safety. In case of an accident, please immediately fire the signal gun, and we will launch a rescue operation at the fastest speed!"

 

"Alright, that's all we need to remind you of. Do any of you have any questions?"

 

A middle-aged woman with a serious face and faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, holding a loudspeaker, stood in front of the vine-covered gate and spoke loudly.

 

"I have a question."

 

In the crowd, Ji Nian's eyes flickered slightly, and he spoke loudly, "You just said that there are some poisonous insects that have not been completely cleared in the field. Can I understand that those things are not considered property of the hunting ground, and we can catch them freely?"

 

"Indeed." The middle-aged woman nodded slightly and said, "And if you capture a certain number of poisonous insects, we will also pay a certain reward. However…"

 

She paused for a moment, then said with a serious face, "I do not personally recommend that you do this."

 

"First of all, you only have half an hour to enter the field. If you fail to capture a secret realm creature during this time, you will be directly disqualified from the competition."

 

"Secondly, the poisonous insects hidden in the field are all transcendent species in the Qingshan Secret Realm, taking lives in just one night, and even if they are saved, there may be some problems."

 

"Therefore… I do not recommend capturing poisonous insects."

 

After hearing this, Ji Nian thought for a moment and said, "Since these poisonous insects are so dangerous, I think your company has put a lot of effort into cleaning them up. Even if I deliberately look for them, I may not be able to find half of them.""You might as well give me this authority. If I encounter it and can't handle it, I will definitely fire the signal gun; if I can't find it, it's no big deal."

 

"As for the time allocation issue, I should be able to handle it."

 

Chronicle said earnestly.

 

The middle-aged woman in charge couldn't help but sigh lightly when she saw his appearance. She turned and took out three special white items that could be used even without spiritual power from the side room.

 

They were named: [Falcon-patterned black pottery narrow-mouthed jar], [Human-faced unbreakable spider silk net], [Blood-dripping hard-to-remove sticky pole].

 

"Take these three items with you first. Return them after the hunt is over."

 

Upon hearing this, Chronicle took the three things from the other party and thanked them.

 

Then he returned to the crowd, summoned Seven Brothers, and handed the three things to him.

 

"Given Seven Brothers' accuracy and ruthlessness when fishing, I believe he is also skilled at catching bugs. I'll leave this task to him."

 

Chronicle thought to himself, then called out Eight Brothers from his sea of consciousness, who would accompany him to catch the creatures in the secret realm.

 

To be honest, although Chronicle was a bit poor, he was not willing to take advantage of others.

 

He just thought of a friend with a "great love" and a mythical and creepy technique called Gu when he heard the words "poisonous insects."

 

Gu, in literal terms, means placing insects in a vessel.

 

In "Treatise on the Pathogenesis and Manifestations of All Diseases," it is said: "Take many insects and snakes, store them in a vessel, let them feed on each other, and only one remains, which is called Gu. It can cause confusion, follow food and drink, and bring disaster to people."

 

In short, it is a somewhat sinister technique, with many varieties such as golden silkworms, bamboo slips, and loaches.

 

It is extremely difficult to guard against and extremely sinister.

 

"It's time for me to expand my skills."

 

Chronicle thought to himself and then entered the hunting ground with the crowd: "It's a good opportunity to catch some bugs and see if it works."

 

Next, he turned to the two Kalings beside him and said, "We'll work together later. Seven Brothers will catch bugs, and Eight Brothers will accompany me to catch creatures in the secret realm. When the bell rings, we'll meet here."

 

With the help of the sea of consciousness, Chronicle finally made Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers, who were not particularly intelligent, understand his meaning through gestures.

 

"…"

 

Seven Brothers couldn't speak, so he patted Eight Brothers on the shoulder, indicating that he should protect Chronicle, and then he walked alone on a path covered with spider webs, dark and damp.

 

"…"

 

Eight Brothers turned to look at Chronicle, pondered for a moment, and then pulled a piece of soul-binding chain from his large sleeve, gently wrapped it around Chronicle's wrist, and tied the other end to his solid arm.

 

In this way, the man and the god walked into the woods with large strides.

 

Looking at the towering figure in front of him and the soul-binding chain in his hand, Chronicle felt that something was strange.

 

But time was pressing, and he couldn't think too much about it, so he followed Eight Brothers' footsteps, stepping on fallen leaves and walking towards the depths of the forest.

 

"Hoo—"

 

"Roar~~~"

 

When they reached the end of the path, a rarely visited small hill suddenly came into view.

 

At the connection between the hill and the forest, there was a spacious and bright entrance. The mountain wind rushed in, hitting the rocks and water, creating a clear sound.

 

The occasional snoring and roaring broke the tranquility.

 

"This?"

 

Chronicle transmitted his spiritual power and pointed to the entrance, looking at Eight Brothers.

 

Upon hearing this, Eight Brothers subconsciously tightened the chain wrapped around his arm, then looked at Chronicle's wrist, as if afraid of losing it, and then nodded seriously.

 

The "monster" living here was the strongest creature he could detect, living on the outskirts of the hunting ground, probably at the level of a blue-grade two or three star.

 

As for the deeper parts of the hunting ground… there were some stronger species, but their strength was beyond what Chronicle could handle at the moment.

 

More importantly… the Association didn't pay enough.

 

Their group of participants could only wander around the outskirts.

 

In other words, it was just a "trial version."

 

"Then let's go in."

 

Chronicle transmitted his spiritual power and followed behind Eight Brothers, stepping on the rocky ground, slowly walking into the cave.

 

After walking for a while, they entered a spacious area.

 

A huge creature with a single horn, covered in white fur, and resembling a mix between a lion and a dog, suddenly entered his sight.

 

This guy seemed to be fast asleep, with its thick front paws pressed against its head, snoring loudly, causing the cave and the surrounding area to tremble.

 

What Chronicle didn't notice was that as they entered this spacious area, the creature quietly opened a tiny slit in its left eye.With a scrutinizing gaze, the creature's eyes wandered over Seven Brothers and Chronicle.

 

Seven Brothers glanced at it, revealing an amused smile. His left hand pressed against the chain knot wrapped around his right arm, and with a slight exertion of his legs, he vanished on the spot.

 

The white-furred monster, seeing one of the humans suddenly disappear, was a bit confused. It hurriedly widened the slit of its left eye to search around.

 

But after a long search, it still couldn't find the vanished Seven Brothers.

 

Just then, a cold wind swept towards its tightly shut right eyelid.

 

Instinctively, it opened its eye, as large as a satellite dish, only to see a big foot clad in a soap boot with patterns of the other shore flower approaching rapidly, aiming straight for its eyeball.

 

Seeing this, it reflexively leaped up, its entire body shaking with the motion.

 

After a few roars of anger, it lifted its paws, as large as small cars, and pressed down hard in the direction of Seven Brothers.

 

Seven Brothers, still with arms crossed and his clothes unruffled, "teleported" atop the white-furred monster's head.

 

Then, in an instant, he gathered his magical power and negative energy. His body, almost as small as the monster's nails, seemed to weigh millions of pounds at that moment, pressing the creature deep into the pile of rocks.

 

After a wail of pain, the monster propped itself up with its claws, exerting all its strength to try to break free from Seven Brothers' suppression.

 

But despite its efforts, Seven Brothers remained unmoved, while the monster itself was exhausted, its weary posture resembling a large dog.

 

Yet its eyes were fierce, still radiating the untamed ferocity and viciousness of many years in captivity.

 

It even attempted to turn around and bite Seven Brothers.

 

"?"

 

Seven Brothers was amused by the anger.

 

In His background setting, He was one of the evil dogs from the Evil Dog Ridge, one of the thirteen stations of the underworld. Even they had to tuck their tails between their legs and act like dogs in His presence, becoming as docile as the three foolish sled dogs and the golden retrievers.

 

Any that dared to bark more than once, He would angrily rub their heads.

 

He was not the kind of parent who spoils children.

 

And at this moment, the white-furred monster's fierce barking was annoying Him.

 

So, He exerted force with his feet, pressing its head and neck deeper into the ground, while using the momentum to spring up. His empty left hand twisted with force, letting the chain from his sleeve wrap around his fist.

 

Then, in a pose similar to Ultraman's transformation, He delivered a punch from the sky, striking the lion's head.

 

The next moment, a "boom" was heard, and the small mountain shook.

 

Hearing the noise, everyone turned their heads to see dust and smoke drifting from the direction of the small mountain, like a mushroom cloud.

 

"Cough, cough, cough…"

 

Inside the nearly collapsed cave, Chronicle coughed lightly twice, fanning away the dust with one hand and holding a card with the other, pressing it against the forehead of the half-dead monster.

 

Many times, he wasn't picky about materials.

 

With the mythological knowledge in his mind, he could instantly come up with n number of crafting schemes with just a few materials.

 

For example, the monster before him, with its single horn and white fur, resembling both a lion and a dog, reminded him of a creature called "Nian" or "Xi" in Chinese mythology.

 

It was a terrifying creature that lived in the deep mountains and forests, emerging from its habitat every 365 or 366 days to devour everything and destroy crops.

 

For the people of that time, surviving that day was as difficult as passing a trial, hence the day was called "Nian Guan" (Year's Pass).

 

It wasn't until an elder pointed out the monster's weakness and drove it away with firecrackers and Spring Festival couplets that the term "Chu Xi" (New Year's Eve) came to be.

 

If it had been in the past, such a mythological creature with so many weaknesses would probably not have caught his eye.

 

But after the battle with Lu Shiping, he suddenly realized that some so-called "weaknesses" might not be unusable.

 

If Lu Shiping could use her background story to create a bond effect of "he flees, she chases, he cannot escape even with wings," then there was no reason he couldn't replicate it slightly, using the weaknesses of the Nian beast to create a decent vehicle card.

 

"After all, it's just a vehicle. At worst, the experiment fails. With its initial rank of blue quality two or three stars, it should still be able to make the top three."

 

Chronicle thought to himself, tucking the sealed 【Single-Horned Snow Lion Dog】 into his chest, and went to find Seven Brothers with the company of Seven Brothers.

 

After walking for a few minutes, they finally saw the figure of Seven Brothers in the dimly lit forest.

 

There He was, with a sticky rod in one hand and a net bag in the other, quick-handed and quick-eyed, flipping and catching insects and beasts in the blink of an eye.

 

And at His feet, there was already a full jar.